26 - Final Pictures

Have been quite remiss in not posting photos of the finished model. To remedy that oversight, here are a selection of shots.

25 - Dory Addendum

Although I indicated in the last post that I was finished with the model, I decided to make one last addition. Jenson includes a diagram of the dory burtons, the arrangement of blocks used to launch and recover the dories when the Bluenose was on the fishing grounds.

Dory burtons (Jenson).

As I was not familiar with the term 'burton', I referred to "JIM STEIN’S NAUTICAL TERMS" for enlightenment. According to Mr Stein:

Burton. A tackle, rove in a particular manner.

• A single Spanish burton has three single blocks, or two single blocks and a hook in the bight of one of the running parts.
• A double Spanish burton has three double blocks.

Since this is a model of the original Bluenose, I felt it only appropriate that this launch set-up be replicated on the model. As I had built two dories to nest on the deck, it was a simple matter to remove one and secure it to the launch rigging, which is supported from the main and fore cross tress.

I think Jenson took some liberties with his drawing, as in reality, the dory hooks will not remain vertical but rather assume an angle oriented towards their respective cross tree. In order to replicate Jenson's depiction, I added a restraining line to keep the hooks vertical and improve the look of the block layout.

Here are a couple of shots of the end result.

And finally, I fabricated a few barrels and buckets to add to the deck layout, as well as another set of oars and a wrapped sail for the dory that is now in the launch position.

Miscellaneous items.

And that should be a wrap. Waiting for a nice sunny day - winter doesn't want to fade away, it seems - to get some natural light shots of the finished model.

24 - Dories

The end is definitely in sight! In fact, if this were a model of the Bluenose II, we could probably declare mission accomplished - assuming, of course, that the deck was configured appropriately. However, this is a rendition of the original Bluenose, a working schooner, so it would not be complete without at least a couple of dories lashed to the deck in preparation for an outing on the Grand Banks

The original kit came with a couple of boats glued to the deck that presumably were meant to represent dories but there must have been something lost in translation by whoever built this kit. (Maybe in China?) Here is a picture taken during the early stages of the rebuild when I was trial fitting some of my initial hardware and the deck furniture was still aboard.

Original dories fitted to the model.

Since these were obviously not going to suffice, I resorted once again to the Web and was not disappointed. Dories are still being built and used to this day, although perhaps not in the same role as at the beginning of the last century. 

Dory races - near Lunenburg?

Regardless, there is plenty of information to be had and if you want a full scale dory built, a shop in Lunenburg will happily oblige, with a range of sizes to suit (http://www.doryshop.com/). 

But for my purposes, I was looking for plans that I could scale and came across a web site that had exactly what I was looking for. ( http://www.shearwater-boats.com/doryinst.html) And best of all, the plans were free and were accompanied by detailed build instructions.

Dory plans - assembly.

Dory plans - components.

Not surprisingly, these plans closely resembled the detail that Jenson included in his book.

Dory detail from Jenson's book.

Having availed myself of some thin (35 thou, 3-ply) plywood at a Michaels arts and crafts store, I was ready to build a couple of dories. I first scaled the plans to the required 1:44 scale, cut out the main components on heavy card stock and then traced the outlines onto the plywood.

 

Major components copied to card stock prior to tracing on plywood.

Once the pieces were cut from the plywood, I used gel 'super glue' to assemble them into a dory. In my initial attempt, I tried to form the curves as I glued, which did not quite work as anticipated. The resultant shape, whilst an improvement over the original version, nevertheless failed to suitably capture the curved sides.

Initial attempt at a dory - unsuccessful.

The solution to this problem was to steam the plywood and bend it into the final shape prior to gluing. This worked much better, but as with other builds in these latter stages, I did not take any pictures so you are only left with the end result. However, the steps were not difficult and once the main pieces were assembled, the rest was simply adding detail, including a set of oars.
 

Grand Banks dories.

Using very thin plywood allows for scaling the size up or down as desired. After my first failed attempt, I scaled the plans down to test my theory that steaming and bending the plywood was the solution and was able to produce a model about two-thirds the final size.

Small feasibility model.

One issue that I had not addressed to this point were the scuppers. This was another instance where the original kit neglected to faithfully replicate the full-scale vessel. If building the hull from scratch, openings for the scuppers would merely be factored into the design, as it has been for the Bluenose II rebuild.

Scuppers - Bluenose II rebuild.

However, in my case, it was not feasible to cut roughly 80 scuppers in the rails with any degree of fidelity. particularly given the questionable material that comprised the hull. My only option was to simulate the scuppers in much the same way that I had replicated the wooden grates. So it was back to MS Word for a solution. Using Jenson's drawing as a guide, produced the diagram below. After printing and cutting out the strips, glued them to the model.

Drawing of simulated scuppers.

To blend the paper into the background, will have to cover with clear lacquer which I've yet to do.

Simulated scuppers.

(As an aside, I noted in the picture of the Bluenose II scuppers that the cutouts for the chainplates closely matched what I did for this model.)

It also strikes me that the kit builders perhaps added the thin white stripe to represent the scuppers. Regardless, there is no corresponding stripe on the rebuilt Bluenose II so I think a bit of touch-up is in order. And I doubt the original Bluenose had a gold stripe on the rail, so I'll not be adding that detail either.

And that about wraps it up. I intend to add a few work-related items to dress up the deck, such as buckets, barrels, nets and other paraphernalia, but for all intents and purposes I am satisfied with the end result as it stands now. In the next post, I will publish a set of photographs of the completed model.

23 - Rigging

Having stepped the main and fore mast, it was time to commence rigging my model. I had some concerns as to how difficult this might be and looked online for info. After seeing the amount of rigging involved in some models, say, a ship-of-the-line, I decided that the Bluenose shouldn't be all that hard after all. The main recommendation seemed to be to start at the front and work aft. And of course, the standing rigging has to be installed before anything else.

With that in mind, therefore, here is Jenson's diagram of the standing rigging on the Bluenose. It is to be noted that standing rigging generally refers to lines, wires, or rods which are more or less fixed in position while the boat is under sail and which support the mast and other spars. Since it was tarred for protection from weather, it was darker or even black in color. Standing rigging also includes the shrouds.

Bluenose standing rigging. 

Bluenose shroud rigging.

The main difference in my approach to the shrouds was that they are already fitted with the ratlines and thus I wouldn't be looping individual shrouds about the mast as depicted here. However, given where they converge between the mast and the top-mast, it will be impossible to detect the difference.

Earlier in the build, I cut the openings in the rail to allow the chainplates to sit flush to the hull. Now it was time to put them to use.

Rail access holes for chainplates.

Chainplates in position.

Chainplates prior to touch-up painting.

  

The chainplates installed with deadeyes and shrouds in place.

There was one detail that to this point had eluded me and that was how to replicate the 'baggy wrinkles' found on the main boom end lift and the middle and forward main boom lifts.I had tried wrapping twine, ordinary yarn and other materials around the lifts but none had the right look. Then I happened across a specialty yarn that appeared to be formed in the shape of a tube. This allowed me to thread the lift lines through strands of this yarn and with a bit of fluffing, a reasonable representation of a baggy wrinkle was achieved.

Baggy wrinkle.

Baggy wrinkles installed on lifts.

With the standing rigging complete, it was on to the running rigging, which is the rigging that is used for raising, lowering and controlling the sails. This obviously was going to be much more time consuming but I fully intended to faithfully replicate the full-scale Bluenose. Again, Jenson afforded excellent guidance in this regard down to the smallest detail. Almost every line was individually documented as to the applicable sail, blocks and belaying point. Here are the two pages of the detail.

Page one of rigging detail - Jenson's.

Page two of rigging detail - Jenson's.

And there were overviews that showed even more detail with regards to sail positioning, etc. Here is an example that provides detail on the jibs, jumbo and fore sail.

Example overview - Jenson's.

Once again, there is little in the way of pictorial documentation of the rigging process but here are a few taken at the very outset.

Rigging early days.

Rigging early days.

Rigging early days.

 After quite a few hours of work, I judged the rigging to be complete. The end was in sight,

One of the last details to take care of were the stacked dories, which were now required in light of the original Bluenose configuration. Will cover that in the next post.

22 - Preparing to Step the Masts.

Having put the sail issue to bed, it was time to start putting the pieces together.

The first step was to fix the mast hoops to all the applicable sails and then slide the fore and main sails on to the fore and main mast respectively. (Note that the main and fore top masts will be installed at a later stage,)

Mast hoops.

I then roped the fore sail to the fore boom and fore gaff and the main sail to the main boom and main gaff. The main difference between the rope lacing for boom and gaff is that on the boom, the rope loops are perpendicular whereas on the gaff they are spiral.

Perpendicular sail wrap on main and fore boom.

Perpendicular sail wrap on jumbo boom.

Spiral wrap on main and fore gaff.

Before stepping the masts, though, there are a few associated items not previously covered: these are the Boom Jaw Rest, the Mast Collars and the gaff jaw rollers.

Boom Jaw Rest.

Producing the mast collars was one time when the lathe came in particularly handy. Not sure how I would have turned them if not for the lathe.

Fore mast collar. (Similar one on main mast under fife rail.)

This view shows the curve of the main gaff jaws as well as the retaining rollers, used on both the main gaff and main boom. On the foremast, only the fore gaff is fitted with rollers. 

Main gaff jaw rollers.

Main boom jaw rollers.

The last major items to complete the bottom masts were the cross trees, the bands to provide attachment points for the peak halyard and other blocks,and the top band to connect the lower masts to the top masts. I have no build pictures for the bands but they were constructed of sheet copper strips formed in loops and soldered together with attaching rings. This was fairly straightforward in the case of the halyard bands, which only had to be adjusted to fit the ever decreasing diameter as you moved up.the mast. 

However, the top connecting bands took a bit more time and effort. This was because they were essentially two hoops soldered together with short straps, designed to connect the top of the main mast to the bottom portion of the top mast. And since I was using soft solder, any adjustment or adding of attaching rings risked melting the whole assembly, which happened on a number of occasions as getting the right fit for masts was largely a trial-and-error undertaking.

For the cross trees, Jenson provides measured drawings for both sets as well as for the trestle trees on which they were mounted, (Note that in order to put the mast hoops on the masts after the cross trees were affixed, their diameter had to be large enough to fit over the large end of the mast. Fortunately, I had thought that far ahead!) 

Jenson's cross tree drawings.

My rendition of the cross trees.

As mentioned, the bands for the peak halyard and other blocks blocks were fairly simple.

Peak halyard bands - main mast. (Fore mast is similar)

After a number of iterations, I eventually was able to to produce an assembly that fit snugly to the very top of the main mast while at the same time fitting the top-mast equally snugly at the appropriate insertion spot. Note that because of the taper on all masts, the top mast had to be slid into the connecting ring from the bottom and then the complete assembly lowered over the main mast and the foot of the top sail fitted into the cross tress.  

Close-up of main to top-mast band. 

Close-up of main to top-mast band.

Having got the main and fore mast fitted with their respective sails, booms and gaffs, it was time to install the top masts. Once this was done and the top masts secured, the mast hoops were affixed to the fore and main gaff top-sails and the sails mounted on the respective top masts. Only this time, the mast hoops merely had to be slid on from the top.

The assembled main and fore masts, with their sails, will now be installed on the deck.